The explosion of computing has profoundly affected the lives of nearly every person. Computers have become ever more common, inexpensive and small. Today, many people carry portable computing devices—mobile phones, tablet computers, personal digital assistants, and the like—that are far more powerful and versatile than most computers were twenty years ago.
This portability and pervasiveness has led to shifts in the way we accumulate, experience and share information. On average, people are today far more accessible and in touch than in years past. In many cases, this high degree of connectedness between people is now expected.
As part of forming connections with others, people naturally share information about themselves, their interests, their activities, and so on. Information sharing has, in many ways, become a primary means to staying in touch with friends, family and colleagues, as well as forming bonds with new people.
Information sharing is also very common in businesses. Employees often need to share information with one another or their organization to ensure continued business success. More efficient sharing can create a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
Portable computing devices facilitate this type of information sharing but are not perfect. Many times, information must be transformed before it can be shared. For example, drafts of documents might be emailed from one worker to another rather than shared directly in the context of a commonly-used application. Barriers to information sharing cause added complexity, cost time and disconnect people from one another.
Thus, what is needed is an improved way to interactively share applications and their data.